(Minghui.org) The Tangshan Intermediate Court upheld the seven-year sentence of a local resident without holding a hearing as required by the law.

According to judge Li Zhuo from the intermediate court, who is in charge of Mr. Cao Jinxing's case, they reviewed the case internally and then decided to uphold the sentence.

Mr. Cao's lawyer and his family weren't informed of the decision. The 67-year-old man's family only found out that he had been taken to Jidong Prison to serve time after he called them from the prison.

Mr. Cao was arrested on June 7, 2017 in the “knocking on doors” campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. The police spent three hours ransacking his home and injured him after throwing him to the ground.

The Lubei District Procuratorate approved his case on June 21, 2017. Lubei District Court sentenced him to seven years in prison on June 26, 2018.

After Mr. Cao appealed his sentence, a staff member from Tangshan City Procuratorate visited him at Tangshan City No.1 Detention Center. According to him, the intermediate court is required by law to hold a hearing of Mr. Cao's case.

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